Other editions of book The Beetle

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

'No room!—Full up!' He banged the door in my face. That was the final blow. To have tramped about all day looking for work; to have begged even for a job which would give me money enough to buy a little food; and to have tramped and to have begged in vain,—that was bad. But, sick at heart, depressed in mind and in body, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, to have been compelled to pocket any little pride I might have left, and solicit, as the penniless, homeless tramp which indeed I was, a night's lodging in the casual ward,— and to solicit it in vain!—that was worse. Much worse. About as bad as bad could be. I stared, stupidly, at the door which had just been banged in my face. I could scarcely believe that the thing was possible. I had hardly expected to figure as a tramp; but, supposing it conceivable that I could become a tramp, that I should be refused admission to that abode of all ignominy, the tramp's ward, was to have attained a depth of misery of which never even in nightmares I had dreamed.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

'The Beetle' (1897) tells the story of a fantastical creature, "born of neither god nor man," with supernatural and hypnotic powers, who stalks British politician Paul Lessingham through fin de siecle London in search of vengeance for the defilement of a sacred tomb in Egypt. In imitation of various popular fiction genres of the late nineteenth century, Marsh unfolds a tale of terror, late imperial fears, and the "return of the repressed," through which the crisis of late imperial Englishness is revealed.

'No room!—Full up!' He banged the door in my face. That was the final blow. To have tramped about all day looking for work; to have begged even for a job which would give me money enough to buy a little food; and to have tramped and to have begged in vain,—that was bad. But, sick at heart, depressed in mind and in body, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, to have been compelled to pocket any little pride I might have left, and solicit, as the penniless, homeless tramp which indeed I was, a night's lodging in the casual ward,— and to solicit it in vain!—that was worse. Much worse. About as bad as bad could be. I stared, stupidly, at the door which had just been banged in my face. I could scarcely believe that the thing was possible. I had hardly expected to figure as a tramp; but, supposing it conceivable that I could become a tramp, that I should be refused admission to that abode of all ignominy, the tramp's ward, was to have attained a depth of misery of which never even in nightmares I had dreamed.

A supernatural thriller from the Victorian period – this is what this novel by Richard Marsh is. Published in 1897, the same year as Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published, it enjoyed more popularity and sold more copies than Stoker’s novel and even though it has not been considered to be part of the canon for about a century, that does not make it less of an ingenious and original story. The Beetle features numerous weird characters and weird events. The complexity of the story is increased by the multiple-narrator structure – there are four people who tell about their experiences related to the beast, giving their testimony in writing to detective Champnell. The antagonist is the Beetle, an oriental figure able to transform himself who hypnotizes the protagonist of the novel. The Beetle can change its size and its sex, and it can even transform into various different species. The creature comes to London to seek revenge on an English politician it encountered some time before in Cairo by attacking the politician’s fiancée. The mysterious creature dies eventually, so the world is safe and all those affected by its appearance get on with their lives. The Beetle is an eventful story that mixes all the ingredients of a good Victorian thriller in the fashion of Stoker, Wilkie Collins, H. P. Lovecraft, George du Maurier and Sax Rohmer, with his Fu Manchu series. Supernatural elements mix with politics, the worship of Isis plays a role just as important as romance and humor, there is cross-dressing and orgies, shape-shifting and blood sacrifice – the book is actually a vast inventory of elements taken from different cultures and subcultures, glued together by the narration. The Beetle is well-written and entertaining – if you are looking for a delighting reading with some supernatural flavor to it, The Beetle makes the perfect choice.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.